On June 25th 2019, we took a significant step toward winning one of our first demands: City Attorney Pete Holmes joined us at a press conference to announce that he intends to take legal action against the fossil fuel industry. For over a year, Mazaska Talks, the Seattle Peoples Party, and 350 Seattle have encouraged City Attorney Holmes to take legal action against the fossil fuel industry. Nearly 1,000 Seattle residents signed a petition to the City Attorney, and over fifty Seattle-based organizations, including Got Green, El Centro de la Raza, and the King County Native American Leadership Council, added their voices to a community endorsement letter calling on City Attorney Holmes to take legal action.

The City Attorney is waiting until after the decision comes back from the San Francisco and Oakland cases against the fossil fuel industry (which is currently at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals) before moving forward with legal action. We support this ― it makes sense to wait until that decision comes back so that Seattle can use the best legal strategies possible to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable.

As the City Attorney said at our press conference:

“Seattle for a Green New Deal is calling for the fossil fuel industry to be held accountable, which is in direct alignment with my thinking. The fossil fuel industry has caused immeasurable harm to our society, and I intend to do everything in my power to make sure that fossil fuel companies pay their fair share for the mess they have caused.”